Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by PopeJonPaul:

Slight caramel and orange-red color with a big poofy head that popped away to nothing pretty fast, though this beer still left a considerable amount of fuzzy film down the glass. Had a slight bitter citrus flavor with a tiny amount of fruitiness, did not have the strong flavors and higher alcohol I was expecting from this style. It was also unusually highly carbonated, cutting this down and calling this beer something else (? Ale) would probably help this beer, unless they can beef up the flavor, and the ABV. This beer was smooth and refreshing, which made it good, but not really a good example of this style.

Served on tap at the Bend Brewery in Bend Oregon. A quite nice looking "pint".Slightly hazy, chesnut brown, nice sized light tan head. Quite hoopy aroma to this, I think my nose is "bust" I cant get much more. This tastes like a robust, toasty brown ale..some dark coffee flavours too. Quite nice on the palte , perhaps a wee bit on the watery side. A nice beer it goes down very easily.

Appearance: amber hue with a moderate haze. There is a thin layer of tan foam atop leaving a nice thorough lace.

Smell: lightly malty with a bit of a floral character. Mild but enticing.

Taste: bready malt flavor with a very light hop character though a nicely balanced bitterness. Sadly this is an American Old Ale that follows the amber-ale branch moreso than the English strong ale branch. So it's toaster and biscuitier than I like. It seems like a well-enough crafted beer, but it's not really for me.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a good carbonation and a nice creamy texture for the style. Good job.

Overall: despite this beer's good texture and enticing aroma, it's just too biscuity for me.

My server suggested that this old ale was about 6.0% ABV. That would be fairly mild for the style. My serving of Outback was my fourth and final pint of the evening and I only ordered it based on its relatively modest ABV. Not knowing otherwise, Id say 6% was near about right. The presence of alcohol was not prominent in the taste. No warm alcoholic glow rolled through my belly. And at the end of the evening I was still on my feet.

My pint was served with a deep, pitted head and showcase lace. Outback reminded me in some respects of the Bend Brewings Metolius Golden Ale. It has a similarly faint aroma of ale yeast and is dominated by a meaty/yeasty flavor, though Outback is dark walnut brown and appears to be clear bodied.

I found Outback Old Ale to be drinkable though not especially inspiring. The head fades quickly, the mouthfeel is somewhat strained, and the brew as a whole is inconsistent for the style. The robust fruitiness, chewy mouthfeel, and warm alcoholic glow of most old ales was supplanted by a casual bitterness better suited to other ale styles.

Growler purchased at BBC, enjoyed in The Big watching Final Four 3.31.12.

Clear medium brown body, not much visible carbonation, one finger slightly off-white head, minimal lacing after quick dissipation. A slight bit of caramel sweetness in the nose balanced by spicy hops. Taste mirrors nose, not a lot of depth and more hoppiness than I'd expect from a Old Ale. IMO, this is more of a hoppy amber. Not sure about ABV, but this growler disappeared pretty quickly, good drinkability. Pretty light mouthfeel, slight bit of stickiness. Certainly not on the same level as Outback X, though I suspect this is the base beer (before lengthy barrel aging). Worth a try.